When do use italics

Lemmings have, not two, but three kinds of sex chromosome. The first two examples illustrate emphasis and the last two illustrate contrast. This is the standard way of representing emphasis or contrast; you should not try to use quotation marks or other punctuation marks for this purpose.

Another use of italics is to cite titles of complete works : books, films, journals, musical compositions, and so on: We saw a performance of the Messiah on Saturday.

Chomsky's book Syntactic Structures revolutionized linguistics. Spielberg won his Oscars for Schindler's List. An exception: the names of holy books are usually not written in italics. Thus, we write about the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran, with no italics. Don't ask me why. A third use of italics is to cite foreign words when talking about them.

For example, if an italic symbol appears in a table title which is also italicized , use standard type for the symbol. This guidance has been revised and expanded from the 6th edition.

Use of Italics. Titles of books, reports, webpages, and other stand-alone works Assessment and treatment of older adults: A guide for mental health professionals Titles of periodicals and periodical volume numbers but not the comma between them American Journal of Nursing , 9 , 47— When not to use italics Do not use italics for the following cases in APA Style papers: Case Example Titles of book series the Harry Potter series The punctuation mark after an italicized word or phrase or between elements of a reference list entry e.

Words, phrases, and abbreviations of foreign origin that appear in a dictionary for the language in which you are writing a posteriori a priori per se ad lib. Previous Lesson. Introduction Italics add emphasis to a word or phrase. They are also used for certain titles.

Titles Titles of longer, independent works are italicized, whereas titles of shorter works are placed between quotation marks. The following list provides some examples of each: As you can see, the shorter works are often included in the longer ones e. Place Names Watch out for place names that are not actually part of the title. The same goes for their individual books and suras when named and not numbered : John may well be the most famous verse in the Bible.

Note, however, that specific editions of the Bible are italicized: New International Version King James Bible Other Punctuation Be careful to distinguish between punctuation that is part of the title and should be in italics and punctuation that is part of the rest of the sentence: We read Horton Hears a Who! And The Cat in the Hat. The exclamation mark is part of the title whereas the period is not.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Use italics for the name of any kind of transportation device or vehicle. Words as Words If you draw attention to a particular word or phrase you can put it in italics: My favourite word is serendipity , followed closely by propinquity. You can also use quotation marks around such words—the main thing is to be consistent.